Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Sep 25, 2024 | slj.com | Kara Yorio |Anne Price-Gordon |Debbie Ridpath Ohi

SLJ modified: siraanamwong/Getty Images By any measure, Algonquin Young Readers (AYR) has been a hit since it launched in 2011— curating a list of unique and award-winning middle grade and YA titles from a stable of celebrated authors and illustrators. But despite that success, the imprint closed this week.

Sep 23, 2024 | slj.com | Brooklyn by |Nile by |Anne Price-Gordon |Debbie Ridpath Ohi

PEN America released a memo with preliminary book banning numbers, showing a huge increase in banned titles from the previous school year; Carole Boston Weatherford is the 2024 Young People's Poet Laureate; We Need Diverse Books honored by Library of Congress; and more. PEN America releases preliminary book ban numbersMore than 10,000 books were banned in public schools during the 2023-2024 school year, according to PEN America’s preliminary findings memoreleased Monday, September 23.

Sep 17, 2024 | slj.com | Debbie Ridpath Ohi |Melissa Stewart |Kathy Ishizuka

It’s tough to navigate social media these days. For starters, it takes time to assess how a platform serves your needs and represents your community, and then to build a following. Many spaces librarians used to rely on to share information and connect with others—Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Instagram—have changed. It’s not just the frustrating algorithms, advertisements, or the privacy concerns impacting the utility of these platforms that are issues.

Sep 16, 2024 | schoollibraryjournal.com | Debbie Ridpath Ohi |Kara Yorio |Kathy Ishizuka |Anne Price-Gordon

With the November 5 presidential election fast approaching, social media feeds are increasingly inundated with political messaging. “If young people are on social media, they are coming in contact with election information,” says Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, executive director of the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE). Students are likely seeing a mix of mainstream media stories, influencer takes, memes, clips from speeches, and more.

Sep 3, 2024 | slj.com | Kara Yorio |Anne Price-Gordon |Debbie Ridpath Ohi |Kathy Ishizuka

Rudzhan Nagiev, kbeis (both Getty Images). SLJ montage. The U.S. presidential election will offer voters two very different paths for public education. Vice President Kamala Harris has not yet outlined her specific education priorities as presidential hopeful. But when she chose Minnesota governor—and former public school social studies and geography teacher—Tim Walz as her running mate, she signaled the ticket’s support of public schools and teachers.